Singer to bring blend of country, jazz, pop to Live on Stage concert

Georgia Temple|Entertainment Editor

Published 5:51 am, Friday, March 23, 2012

Vocalist Anna Wilson grew up in a home filled with the sound of jazz.

“I moved to Nashville to be a songwriter and a country artist, I thought,” Wilson said in a telephone interview with the Reporter-Telegram. “And by being around that world and doing it for a while, I realized that wasn’t what suited me best, so I pursued rock and roll and pop.

“And I had record deals in all those genres. It didn’t work out. The music I loved the most is all that stuff I grew up with — jazz and big band type songs. I wondered what would happen if I tried a song like that, and I did, and I never looked back.”

Wilson will bring her blend of country, jazz and pop here for a 2:30 p.m. performance March 25 at Midland High School Auditorium, downtown., as part of the Live on Stage concert series. The performance will feature songs from her albums as well jazz standards. She is backed by a rhythm section led by her guitarist and husband, producer/songwriter, Monty Powell.

She has described her current release, “Countrypolitan Duets,” as “country music and jazz music shaking hands because it’s a real fusion of two great American musical art forms.”

The album features duets with some of the best known vocalists in Nashville, such as Ray Price, Kenny Rogers, Connie Smith, Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts and Lady Antebellum. In addition to her own albums, she has penned songs for Reba McEntire, Brooks & Dunn, Billy Ray Cyrus, Lee Ann Womack and Chris Cagle.

“The second reason for choosing jazz is one of the main things I wanted to do since I was a little girl,” said Wilson. “I wanted to perform live. Jazz was the format I could do that well into my golden years and still be relevant. I’d like to be 70 years old and singing on a stage.”

Jazz vocalist Anna Wilson

When: 2:30 p.m. March 25

Where: Midland High School Auditorium, downtown.

Tickets: Part of the Live on Stage concert series. Go to www.liveonstage-pb.com or call 789-1249 for tickets information. See Thursday’s Pulse for the rest of the interview with Anna Wilson.